Hearings to examine cause of blackout

August 20, 2003

WASHINGTON — A key House committee announced Tuesday it would hold hearings in early September on last week's massive blackout, in what is likely to be the first thorough public accounting of what went wrong.

Separately, President Bush predicted congressional agreement on energy legislation that includes provisions to strengthen the electric grid, and the Energy Department took the lead in investigating the power failures. The hearings, scheduled for Sept. 3-4, "will examine why the blackout occurred, why it was not prevented by federal, state and private sector efforts that have already taken place, and how future blackouts can be prevented," Tauzin said in a letter to prospective witnesses.

The committee said it also is seeking information from utility companies and grid operators in the Midwest, New York and New England, as well as from state officials in Michigan and Ohio.

Estimates of economic losses as a result of the blackout have ranged as high as $4 billion to $6 billion. Investigators in government and industry are focusing on two main issues: the initial disruption and its causes, and the failure to contain the problem.